November 2, 2014: Toronto Argonauts vs. Montreal Alouettes

[paulwoods13]

Based on how they have been playing for most of the season, the Argos do not deserve to be in the playoffs. We may miraculously get in but if we do I have no confidence we will be a serious threat to win two playoff games. Some of it is injuries to key players (which have really disrupted us all year long), some of it is poor recruiting, and some of it is poor scheming. Our defence is not even close to being championship-calibre; Montreal's is, tho.

The only potential saving grace out of all this is that Mtl will be highly motivated to take first place by beating Hamilton next week, and to maintain this roll they are on. However, even a loss to Ham by seven points or less will give them first place so we certainly cannot count on a Mtl win. Nor can we count on beating Ottawa; today we looked lost on both sides of the ball, and Ott has been close to wins the past few weeks.

It had little or nothing to do with the outcome today, but why was I not surprised that Marcus Thomas went out of the game with an early injury? That makes it three-for-three for him this season. I wager he has played fewer than 20 snaps total.

[Argo]

Based on how they have been playing for most of the season, the Argos do not deserve to be in the playoffs. We may miraculously get in but if we do I have no confidence we will be a serious threat to win two playoff games. Some of it is injuries to key players (which have really disrupted us all year long), some of it is poor recruiting, and some of it is poor scheming. Our defence is not even close to being championship-calibre; Montreal's is, tho.

The only potential saving grace out of all this is that Mtl will be highly motivated to take first place by beating Hamilton next week, and to maintain this roll they are on. However, even a loss to Ham by seven points or less will give them first place so we certainly cannot count on a Mtl win. Nor can we count on beating Ottawa; today we looked lost on both sides of the ball, and Ott has been close to wins the past few weeks.

It had little or nothing to do with the outcome today, but why was I not surprised that Marcus Thomas went out of the game with an early injury? That makes it three-for-three for him this season. I wager he has played fewer than 20 snaps total.

The Ti-Cats should be expected to put out a much more aggressive and effective effort against the Als than the Argos managed by playing Milanoball.

[ArgoFan1]

I am going to start the BOOOOs next week if the Argos start with this 2 yard pass business. I hate it with a passion. If you are only going to throw it 2 or 3 yards, you might as well run the ball. To me, this horribly boring offence is the only reason they are in the mess thay are as far as the standings go.

[OV Argo]

The Ti-Cats should be expected to put out a much more aggressive and effective effort against the Als than the Argos managed by playing Milanoball.

Milanoball - i like that call - typical same old ,limited CFL offensive look - even with a great vet QB running things, do not count on same old, safe or dink & dunbk $h*t as the basis of your offence.

[ArgoRavi]

Based on how they have been playing for most of the season, the Argos do not deserve to be in the playoffs. We may miraculously get in but if we do I have no confidence we will be a serious threat to win two playoff games. Some of it is injuries to key players (which have really disrupted us all year long), some of it is poor recruiting, and some of it is poor scheming. Our defence is not even close to being championship-calibre; Montreal's is, tho.

The only potential saving grace out of all this is that Mtl will be highly motivated to take first place by beating Hamilton next week, and to maintain this roll they are on. However, even a loss to Ham by seven points or less will give them first place so we certainly cannot count on a Mtl win. Nor can we count on beating Ottawa; today we looked lost on both sides of the ball, and Ott has been close to wins the past few weeks.

It had little or nothing to do with the outcome today, but why was I not surprised that Marcus Thomas went out of the game with an early injury? That makes it three-for-three for him this season. I wager he has played fewer than 20 snaps total.

We aren't as good as Montreal at this point. If Hamilton wins next week - and I think they will be in tough - they deserve the playoff spot over the Argos. If they don't win and the Argos do beat Ottawa, anything can happen but only if Milanovich, Brady and Maas can come up with some kind of answer for the Montreal defence that they haven't come up with yet.

The defence today gave up too many big plays but even more shuffling was necessary with further injuries. The Argos didn't lose because of the defence though or the superb special teams. The TSN turning point in the game was when the Argos could score no more than 3 points despite playing the 3rd quarter mostly in Montreal's end of the field. They couldn't take advantage of a too many men penalty against the Als which gave the Argos another chance in Montreal territory and only got the 3 points off of the turnover on downs at the Montreal 35.

[Will]

The Alouettes and the Tiger-Cats (at least until the last two games) have such a defense where I feel the Argos O is not going to work. Unless you can make those guys miss Owens and Durie then it isn't going to be effective. Watt and Bradwell don't have much YAC capability. Their inability to make adjustments against certain opponents is very frustrating indeed.

The Argos defense can play solid at times, but doesn't have the ability to beat you like Montreal or Hamilton's defense does. This game is a perfect example, hold Montreal to 17 points, but can't generate a turnover or two to support the offense, although ultimately the offense is responsible for helping itself.

[Argo57]

Based on how they have been playing for most of the season, the Argos do not deserve to be in the playoffs. We may miraculously get in but if we do I have no confidence we will be a serious threat to win two playoff games. Some of it is injuries to key players (which have really disrupted us all year long), some of it is poor recruiting, and some of it is poor scheming. Our defence is not even close to being championship-calibre; Montreal's is, tho.

The only potential saving grace out of all this is that Mtl will be highly motivated to take first place by beating Hamilton next week, and to maintain this roll they are on. However, even a loss to Ham by seven points or less will give them first place so we certainly cannot count on a Mtl win. Nor can we count on beating Ottawa; today we looked lost on both sides of the ball, and Ott has been close to wins the past few weeks.

It had little or nothing to do with the outcome today, but why was I not surprised that Marcus Thomas went out of the game with an early injury? That makes it three-for-three for him this season. I wager he has played fewer than 20 snaps total.

Pretty accurate summary Paul. The talent level and team chemistry has been steadily on the decline since the championship year some due to injury, personnel decisions, recruiting and changes to the staff. Add to the fact teams know how to defend this offensive system which is plain to everyone (except the Argonaut coaching staff it seems) who cant or won't adapt or change and here we are.
Guess what, the Argos are no lock to win against Ottawa, who will be playing loose and carefree, we also may get a chance to see what we have behind Ray as well this week, hopefully Gale gets a lot of work (if Ray can't go) as I think he may ultimately be the better long term prospect rather than Harris.
Perhaps Marcus Thomas isn't physically fit enough for our game, wasted roster spot IMO if he continues to get hurt.
The championship glow of 2012 has long worn off for this organization, some tough questions will need to be answered moving forward!!

[ArgoRavi]

Add to the fact teams know how to defend this offensive system which is plain to everyone (except the Argonaut coaching staff it seems) who cant or won't adapt or change and here we are.

Do they though? Montreal seems to have the key to defending this offence but I haven't seen evidence of that with the other defences in the league. Recently alone, the Argos have exploited B.C.'s, Hamilton's (twice) and Edmonton's defences.

The issues with the Als remind me of 1990 when the Argos put up a record number of points offensively and went 11-4 (including playoffs) against every team not named "Winnipeg". Against the Bombers, the Argos, including playoffs, went 0-5 and could not seem to find an answer against their championship calibre defence, even with the legendary Don Matthews coaching the team and Adam Rita as offensive coordinator.

In fairness, the Als' defence has shut down most of the offences in the league including Calgary's vaunted one recently. Obviously, if the Argos are fortunate enough to get another chance at the Als, they have to figure this out to have any chance but the reality is that this Montreal defence may be the most dominant the league has seen since Rich Stubler's Argo defence in '07. Remember though that the '07 Argo defence had a bit of an off-day in the East Final and, more importantly, the '07 Toronto offence, which was similar to Montreal's this year in several ways, staggered badly in that EF game. Hopefully the Als still have one more dominant performance in them next week in Hamilton.

[294life]

In fairness, the Als' defence has shut down most of the offences in the league including Calgary's vaunted one recently. Obviously, if the Argos are fortunate enough to get another chance at the Als, they have to figure this out to have any chance but the reality is that this Montreal defence may be the most dominant the league has seen since Rich Stubler's Argo defence in '07. Remember though that the '07 Argo defence had a bit of an off-day in the East Final and, more importantly, the '07 Toronto offence, which was similar to Montreal's this year in several ways, staggered badly in that EF game.

19 points was considered an off-day because they would usually not even give up so many. I agree with the '07 comparison all the more because I doubt the Als will make it to the final.

[Will]

Do they though? Montreal seems to have the key to defending this offence but I haven't seen evidence of that with the other defences in the league. Recently alone, the Argos have exploited B.C.'s, Hamilton's (twice) and Edmonton's defences.

The issues with the Als remind me of 1990 when the Argos put up a record number of points offensively and went 11-4 (including playoffs) against every team not named "Winnipeg". Against the Bombers, the Argos, including playoffs, went 0-5 and could not seem to find an answer against their championship calibre defence, even with the legendary Don Matthews coaching the team and Adam Rita as offensive coordinator.

In fairness, the Als' defence has shut down most of the offences in the league including Calgary's vaunted one recently. Obviously, if the Argos are fortunate enough to get another chance at the Als, they have to figure this out to have any chance but the reality is that this Montreal defence may be the most dominant the league has seen since Rich Stubler's Argo defence in '07. Remember though that the '07 Argo defence had a bit of an off-day in the East Final and, more importantly, the '07 Toronto offence, which was similar to Montreal's this year in several ways, staggered badly in that EF game. Hopefully the Als still have one more dominant performance in them next week in Hamilton.

The Alouettes know how to defend this offensive system and to put it simply it is based on having speedy guys who can close in on the ball carrier without missing. The comparison between the 2014 Montreal Alouettes and the 1990 Winnipeg Blue Bombers is an interesting one as I'd agree that they have a competent enough QB a la Tom Burgess, but the strength of that team really lies on the other side of the ball. However, I can't really compare this edition of the Argos to the 1990 squad. That team struggled at the start of the year, but by the end of the year was destroying any team not named Winnipeg rather decisively.

[doubleblue]

Based on how they have been playing for most of the season, the Argos do not deserve to be in the playoffs. We may miraculously get in but if we do I have no confidence we will be a serious threat to win two playoff games. Some of it is injuries to key players (which have really disrupted us all year long), some of it is poor recruiting, and some of it is poor scheming. Our defence is not even close to being championship-calibre; Montreal's is, tho.

The only potential saving grace out of all this is that Mtl will be highly motivated to take first place by beating Hamilton next week, and to maintain this roll they are on. However, even a loss to Ham by seven points or less will give them first place so we certainly cannot count on a Mtl win. Nor can we count on beating Ottawa; today we looked lost on both sides of the ball, and Ott has been close to wins the past few weeks.

It had little or nothing to do with the outcome today, but why was I not surprised that Marcus Thomas went out of the game with an early injury? That makes it three-for-three for him this season. I wager he has played fewer than 20 snaps total.

That pretty well sums it up. IMO